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Process Lethality

AMI Foundation Reaffirms Safety of Nitrite, Processed Meats

Washington, D.C., August 2, 2010 – The
American Meat Institute Foundation (AMIF) said
a study published today in the journal Cancer
that links nitrite and nitrate intake from
processed meats to a potential increased risk
of bladder cancer is the latest example of
“nutrition whiplash” facing
consumers. AMIF President James H. Hodges
said the study creates needless confusion
rather than providing clarity to the complex
issue of diet and its effect on health.

Hodges emphasized that processed meat
continues to be part of a healthy, balanced
diet and nutrition decisions should be based on
the total body of evidence – not on one study
that stands in contrast to the full body of
research.

The study erroneously perpetuates the myth
that cured meats are the main source of
ingested nitrite. The fact is that less than
five percent of ingested nitrite comes from
cured meats. Ninety-three percent comes from
vegetables like lettuce, spinach, celery,
cabbage and beets and from our own
saliva. In fact, research conducted in
the last 20 years had concluded that the body
makes nitrite as part of its healthy, normal
nitrogen cycle.

In
addition, the U.S. National Toxicology Program
(NTP), which is considered the “gold
standard” in determining whether substances
cause cancer, completed a multi-year study in
which rats and mice were fed high levels of
sodium nitrite. The study found that
nitrite was not associated with cancer.
NTP maintains a list of chemicals found to be
carcinogenic. Sodium nitrite is not on that
list.

Hodges noted that this is an epidemiological
study, which by itself is not sufficient to
establish cause and effect. Rather, this
type of study allows researchers to identify
associations that may merit further
study.

Even the authors of the study state that the
findings of their research are “tentative,”
the relationship between dietary nitrite and
nitrate was of “borderline statistical
significance,” and “not enough data was
available to draw conclusive findings.”

Refuting even those modest assertions,
Hodges said, “This study did not achieve the
standard scientific threshold that would
generate any concern at all, and it has already
come under intense scrutiny from the scientific
community because there is no data presented
that is statistically significant by
conventional statistical rules.”

Hodges concluded by saying, “All of these
studies struggle to disentangle other lifestyle
and dietary habits from meat and processed meat
and admit that they can't do it well enough to
use their conclusions to accurately recommend
people change their dietary habits. What
the total evidence has shown, and what common
sense suggests, is that a balanced diet and a
healthy body weight are the keys to good
health. Meat contains protein, amino
acids and essential nutrients like iron and
zinc that can and should be part of a healthy,
balanced diet and lifestyle.”

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About Us

The North American Meat Institute (NAMI) is the leading voice for the meat and poultry industry. Formed from the 2015 merger of the American Meat Institute (AMI) and North American Meat Association (NAMA), the Institute has a rich, century-long history and provides essential member services including legislative, regulatory, scientific, international and public affairs representation. NAMI’s mission is to shape a public policy environment in which the meat and poultry industry can produce wholesome products safely, efficiently and profitably. Together, the Institute’s members produce the vast majority of U.S. beef, pork, lamb and poultry and the equipment, ingredients and services needed for the highest quality products.